The Broken Monastery
A number of adventurers went on an expedition to the long abandoned Monastery of Saint Bahwoh in northern Farthrone, a monk that developed a number of techniques that focused on enlightenment techniques that drew many pilgrims over the years. A group assembled from members of the Eagle Society traveled to the edge of the Jarlara Mountains to retrieve an artefact from the monastery on a contract with the Scholars of Wen. It follows from the previous adventure involving some of those that took part in this adventure. The Set-Up Following the newest recruits to the Eagle Society's elevation to membership thank to their sponsorship by Balenar Foresend, the group had spit up with only Ryann Ildecimo and Ladagon Justikhasm remaining together. Due to the conflict in the Amaran Region to the east, a number of refugees had arrived in Marn leading to the Eagle Society being hired to escort many of these to the cities of Mangmor and Marstep. The Back Council of Marstep elected to target the strongholds and potential strongholds that thieves and brigands might use in the area, destroying a number of ancient strongholds, one of which was to be the Broken Monastery. The Eagle Society was contracted by the Scholars of Wen to retrieve an artefact from the monastery before it was destroyed by the Exemplars. The Party Balenar Foresend A veteran bard of the Eagle Society that sponsored the membership of a good number members, including Ryann and Ladagon. He traveled ahead to the Monastery to scout it out, risking entering from the rear in an attempt to find the artefact himself. Ryann Ildecimo A human fighter who recently joined the Eagle Society hoping to earn renown among the up and coming organisation. Ladagon Justikhasm A dwarven paladin of Pelor who travels with his dodo companion that grants him insights into the nature of the mystical and divine. Kno, of the Open Steppe A half-elf ranger of the west of Marn trained in hunting the various beasts of the Steppe. Hans de Grits A human refugee from the Amaran, bringing with him the gunslinging skills of his Drenden homeland. Vannyc, of Belikrov A sekad cleric of Belikrov traveling to spread the word of his Waxen Lady, during his travels he was ambushed by brigands who kidnapped him and returned him to the Broken Monastery for nefarious reasons. Scouring the Monastery The Frozen Door Arriving at the Monastery, utilising directions given to them by the Scholars, the first four members of the group pushed open the heavy door and entered the darkened corridor. Catching their breath the party started a small fire with the wood they found from rotten chairs, warming themselves as they prepared for the challenges that lay ahead. The Rat's Chambers The group firstly entered the large altar room noting a number of doors and entrances to this central chamber including one which appeared to be a secret entrance through a painting that had been torn open. Electing to inspect this doorway first the group uncovered a smaller alter room, likely intended for the monks' private use devoted to the founder, Bahwoh, and an unidentifiable woman. As they entered they were ambushed by wererats hiding in the darkness, who attempted to overwhelm the party with their regenerating flesh unable to be penetrated by their weapons, thinking quickly the group found some items of use to combat the lycanthropes that gave them an edge in the fight, avoiding their diseased jaws. The Marred Flesh After defeating the wererats the group discovered a cleric of Belikrov, who named himself Vannyc, in a sack on the floor that it would appear that the beast-men had intended to turn him into one of them, though his blood appeared unwilling to take the curse's effect. After a brief interrogation the party agreed to allow him to accompany them as once they described the artefact they sought he grew suspicious and sought to find it for himself. Moving on from the private altar they uncovered a strange dining room where they found partitions with the skeletons of monks sitting at tables. With Vannyc's aid they were able to restore flesh to a skeleton, showing that they were poisoned by their food. Presented with two doorways, they swung open the rightmost door revealing a room packed with the walking dead, Vannyc himself having easily animated restored corpse they had uncovered. Choosing to barricade the door rather than combat the horde, Ryann using his knowledge of engineering to successfully reinforce the door. Vannyc then sent the corpse through the leftmost door which lead down a corridor, as it walked it showed signs of remembering its previous life, attempting to steady itself on a long rotted railing that had fallen to the floor. It triggered a falling block trap that crushed its torso, ending its unlife as the party continued. The Morlock's Verse The party uncovered the fallen reliquary tower top which lay on its side across the former scriptorium which they entered via one of its four large windows. Traveling into what was the roof cap of the tower the group was accosted by three morlocks, who leaped at them with crude tools and clubs attempting to drag them down a number of holes they had created in the floor hoping to drop them into the rubble below. The group managed to defeat the morlocks, forcing their leader out of the stone into which he had melded, a large silver key falling from his torn robes. The Wind Calls the Tide The group returned to the main altar room with the large key, hoping to use it to open the tabernacle above the altar, inside they found the statue artefact they sought, a foot tall stone image depicting four identical woman blowing across the surface of their upturned palms. When they revealed it, each of the mouths of the four woman began to howl with the noise of a great wind that nearly deafened the party until Hans was able to grab it off its pedestal. Tumbling out of a doorway came Balenar Foresend attracted to the sound of the statue, behind him came a horde of pursuing walking dead. Throwing Balenar the statue after some brief pleasantries, the party moved towards the exit, only to encounter even more of the dead coming from the outside, some of them stumbling into the fire they had left unattended in the entrance corridor, spreading flames across the altar room. Utilizing his divine power Justikasm blasted away a number of the dead though more continued to approach them. The group fought a bitter battle towards the Abbot's Private Sanctum with Hans getting knocked out and dragged behind Ryann who held the door until the rest of the group was able to get through. The Argument in the Abbot's Chambers Once again reinforcing a door, the group caught their breath as they discussed their next course of action, Vannyc taking a look around the room and uncovering the Abbot's journal. On the final few pages he discovered that the Abbot was beginning to fear that a cult that worshiped death was seeking the destruction of the temple and its monks, as well as his journal the Abbot had inscribed a Hide From Undead scroll in the final pages. Meanwhile Justikasm's dodo companion had a revelation that the statue was an artefact of the primordials and must be destroyed, though few in the party understood what this meant for the world. After much argument, Vannyc agreed to cast the spell on as many as he could, which was five, leaving one of them unprotected, in exchange for the statue. Balenar was quite distressed with the arrangement and it was not until Justikasm announced his plan to hold off the undead in a last stand that he agreed, casting a spell of invisibility on the dwarf so that he too might escape the horde. Consequences The party escaped the Broken Monastery, Vannyc and Justikasm agreeing to take the Long River down to Mangmor to avoid the Scholars of Wen who they began to suspect knew what the artefact's true nature was and were themselves part of the effort to return the Primordials to power. Balenar and the rest of the party traveled to Marstep, the veteran of the Eagle Society hoping to beat the two holy men to Mangmor with aid from the Eagle Society's Red Wings in order to retrieve the stolen artefact.Category:Campaigns Category:Call of the Eagle